I had some hoisin pork rib sauce leftover and thought it too good to waste especially after the painstaking effort of grating all that ginger. It was also a sweltering 32°C in Sydney and I did not want to wilt any further by making something elaborate. I decided to use the leftover sauce on some chicken thighs I had in the freezer and pair it off with a refreshing fennel salad.

Grease a shallow baking tray with cooking oil. Place thighs on tray with skin side down. Cook for 20 minutes. Take out of oven and brush chicken with sauce. Cook for 7 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully turn chicken over with a spatula trying not to damage the skin. Brush skin side with sauce and return to oven for another 7 minutes.

Prepare fennel by trimming off the stems and reserving the lacy fronds. Slice the fennel bulb using a mandolin. Toss sliced fennel and fronds with oilve oil and season to taste with sea salt, pepper and lemon juice.